During the manufacture of meat products on industrial scale it is usual to transport the (half-) products between different processing stations by means of conveyor belts, conveyor chains and the like. For a relatively simple processing of the (half-) products it is advantageous when they are supplied in position to a subsequent processing station. More in particular it is advantageous when the elongate meat products are oriented axially in the direction of transport, i.e. lying successively one behind the other (with optionally greater or smaller interspacing) in longitudinal direction. An important limitation in the positioning is that the elongate meat products are usually vulnerable. Semi-manufactures of sausages can thus often have such little firmness that they deform or are damaged by local contact. It will be apparent that damage and deformation of the meat products is undesirable.
Such a positioning is known from JP-A-61111221 in which an apparatus for aligning transported articles, e.g. fruit, is shown. The apparatus comprises paired left and right belt surfaces inclined like an inverted fan. The interval between the belt surfaces is gradually increased as it comes to the transfer terminal end, so that the delivered transported article is transferred in the same altitude as it is. The construction of the apparatus according this patent is simple and aligns the transported articles. However, the freedom of design of the shape of the transport surfaces, the hygiene in use of the belts and the lifetime of the transporting belts is limited.
Another device for positioning is know from EP 0 456 155; this device is specifically designed for transporting and packaging sausages. Described on the basis of the Figures of this patent publication are means for axially positioning the sausages. These means are formed by a pair of plates placed above a feed conveyor for the sausages. The plates are disposed vertically at an angle such that they together form a mouth opening through which the sausages are discharged. The plates serve to press the sausages not supplied axially relative to the mouth opening into the desired orientation. Such a contruction with positioning plates is structurally very simple but has the drawback that the contact between the plates and the (half-) products can result in undesired effects. Soft sausages can thus be deformed, meat remnants can remain on the plates, leading to contamination, and sausages lying too close together can be pressed together. The plates form a potential source of blockages. Another significant drawback is that the sausages according to this prior art are not always brought into the desired orientatio; the sausages are found in practice to also assume orientations differing from the axial.
The invention has for its object to provide a device and a method with which meat products can be oriented in a controlled manner, wherein the above stated drawbacks of the prior art do not occur, or only do so to a lesser extent.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.